track rod ends - Saxperience

tomoaks · 18th March 2012, 17:35

hi all

i believe my "track rod ends" are worn due to uneven front tyre wear and the "wandering" sensation from the front end. Had the tracking done as i believed it was to fault, within a few miles it had come out again, had the balljoints and wishbones done (by KRISB), i recently did the drop links believing they may have been the fault, last option before replacing front shocks points at the track rod ends.
How much would a reputable mechanic charge for fixing these as i really cant be arsed nore have the time to get under the motor again before the MOT on the 28th.

Cheers

tom

welshpug · 18th March 2012, 17:57

maybe an hours labour plus £20 for parts, depends how much labour costs your way.

plus tracking of course, make sure they set both track rods to the same length.

tomoaks · 18th March 2012, 18:08

@ welshpug
cheers for reply bud, how much is labour generally? £60 p/h?

tom

mark1311 · 18th March 2012, 18:38

labour charges go between 30 and 110 an hour round here.

tomoaks · 18th March 2012, 18:42

@ mark1311
£30 would be nice lol, £110 p/h must be main dealer mechanics surely????

mark1311 · 18th March 2012, 18:45

yer thats what VAG charge up here, its actuali 90 an hour then they stick vat on top...

we charge between 30 and 45 an hour depending what it is... obvs say welding for an hour costs us more then say swopping brakes for an hour as have the wire, gas electic to come out of it etc.

where abouts you based?

tomoaks · 18th March 2012, 18:47

@mark1311
miles away dude, croydon to be exact.
for track rods i am hoping no more than £50 to supply and fit as they are doing my brakes too

mark1311 · 18th March 2012, 18:52

arh yer miles away mate, usuali about 10er each then 1 hours labour so about tht i reckon.

tomoaks · 18th March 2012, 19:04

so about £60?

Monkgti · 18th March 2012, 19:33

did you check to see are they gone? all you need do is jack up the front wheels and try move them back and forth in the same direction they would be turning with the steering, if there is any play you will feel it straight away. And if you do feel any play you can either put one hand on the track rod end and move the wheel with the other or get someone else to rock the wheel and you look from underneath to see if the play is in the track rod end or the inner tie rod. Its simple to do, but i wouldnt go buying parts if i hadnt made sure they were gone first

tomoaks · 18th March 2012, 19:38

@monkgti

i am fairly sure they are gone, if not then at least if i get them changed its something else to cross off the list,
basically i think they are gone due to the way the front end seems to wander off course. dont think there would be anything else shot to cause this.

Monkgti · 18th March 2012, 19:45

But you should check them to make sure before spending money that you could be spending on somthing else

for instance your wheel bearing(s) could be gone and they would cause the same thing to happen if there is excessive play, and the last 106 gti i had was wondering all over the place, it turned out the bolts in the steering rack were loose!! So you should check it first to find the play, trust me if the track rods are gone you will find play in them or any other part for that matter!

tomoaks · 18th March 2012, 19:57

@monkgti
so say the wheel bearings were shot, would there be any noises? (there are no noises)
If the bolts in steering rack were loose would it be a case of just tightening these up? where would i look?

Monkgti · 18th March 2012, 20:19

there should be noise in the wheel bearings if they are gone, a humming when you drive which will increase as you turn one way depending which side is gone, but there are a few cases ive seen bearings hanging off they were so bad with no noise atall!! jack the car up and put your hands on the top and bottom of the wheel and try to move it and see is there any play as play in the track rods etc wont show up this way... As for the rack, yes my one just needed thightening up, there are torx holding it in placeon each side, if you look down by the drivers side of the bulkhead just inside the strut you will see 2 there and the others are in behind the inlet manifold you will see them by removing the air box if you have a standard 1

tomoaks · 18th March 2012, 20:28

@monkgti

cheers for this dude sounds like good advice, could i ask a HUGE favour? could you type me an "idiots" guide as to how to check if loose and tighten?
cheers fella

tom

Monkgti · 18th March 2012, 21:57

no problem! well the easiest way is just locate the bolts holding on the rack and get the correct size bit, (im not sure but i think it might be a 6mm) and just try give them a squeeze, there a bit fiddley to get at as theres not much room

tomoaks · 19th March 2012, 10:39

checked everything, nothing looks worn bent loose ect
really confused

tomoaks · 19th March 2012, 10:52

just looked at mot and it says advisory for binding brakes on offside rear, if the old owner didnt fix it (i am gonna check in a mo) would this cause the car to pull???

monka · 19th March 2012, 11:59

have you checked the strut legs? in particular the hole into which the bottom ball joint goes?

i have heard a few case's of these holes being worn oval, don't know what the car drives like, but i had an almera that the ball joint kept coming loose on and the car kept 'wondering'